Philly Regrets Flood of Cases

When the Philadelphia court system faced budget cuts in early 2009, an influential judge there invited plaintiffs to bring the court their cases — and their filing fees.

The plan backfired.

After Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe told defense lawyers she wanted to "take business away from other courts" by making Philadelphia's more attractive to lawyers, "mass-tort" filings—made up...